Tottenham Hotspur are braced to cope without Emmanuel Adebayor during the Africa Cup of Nations after all, with the Togo forward's presence at the tournament over the next month leaving the Premier League club to consider a new bid for the Brazil forward Leandro Damião.

Adebayor had suggested last year that he would not take part in the finals in South Africa, which run from 19 January to 10 February, due to a row over unpaid bonuses and the Togo team's security. The 28-year-old had retired from international football in April 2010 having been profoundly affected by the terrorist attack on the national team bus, which left three people dead before the previous tournament in Angola and despite returning to the fold in November 2011, had quit again, apparently over the pay dispute.

Yet Togo now claim that he has changed his mind again and will be available for the tournament, having apparently flown to Ghana to meet up with the squad for their pre-finals training camp. Indeed, the Togolese president, Faure Gnassingbé, was due to meet Adebayor personally in a bid to persuade him to spearhead the side's Group D campaign against Ivory Coast, Algeria and Tunisia. "Of course we're in the African Nations Cup with Adebayor – we will be together in South Africa," the head of the Togo Football Federation, Ameyi Gabriel, is reported to have told Radio Algeria International. "It is very important to have him there because he is our player and captain of the team."

Adebayor has until Wednesday to confirm his availability – regardless, Spurs' players were granted three days off after Saturday's win over Coventry – when national associations have to submit their final squads for the tournament. Spurs have stressed they would not stand in the player's way if he chose to represent his country, ruling him out of the side's next four games, despite the potential disruption it might have on their season. Adebayor boasts only two Premier League goals this term, with Andre Villas-Boas having relied heavily on Jermain Defoe up front.His absence would leave the manager reliant upon such players as Clint Dempsey or Gylfi Sigurdsson up front should the England forward succumb to injury.

That reality could prompt a renewed attempt to secure Damião, a long-standing target at Spurs and the leading goalscorer at the London Olympics. The 23-year-old already has 14 caps and has been the subject of previous failed bids at Internacional – Villas-Boas claimed last week that the striker "fits the profile" of potential additions – even if Spurs' instinct would more normally have been to return to the Brazilian club in the summer with an offer for the highly-rated forward. Tottenham's hierarchy are currently considering how best to pursue targets this month and, while there is established interest in the likes of Damiao and the Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha, they are keen not to pay what they would consider to be over the odds.

Both Spurs and Lazio have been charged by Uefa over the conduct of their supporters during the 0–0 Europa League draw between the clubs at Stadio Olimpico on 22 November. Disciplinary proceedings have been opened against the Italian club over the alleged racist behaviour of their fans, who were chanting "Juden Tottenham" at the away fans that night. Further action has been brought against Lazio over "missiles and/or fireworks" thrown by supporters during the game in Rome, the late arrival of the team at the stadium and tardy submission of the team sheet.

In the reverse fixture at White Hart Lane in October, Lazio's fans had been found guilty of monkey chants aimed at three home players. Tottenham have been charged over separate crowd disturbances at the Group J game in Rome, with both cases to be heard on 24 January.